Pittsburgh Regional Transit riders involved in November crash sue driver who struck bus

Two Pittsburgh Regional Transit bus riders involved in a head-on crash in November sued the driver who hit them Thursday in the Court of Common Pleas.

Victoria Coleman, of the Hill District, and John Peters, who listed his home address as the H. John Heinz III Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in O’Hara, are suing driver Robert Fulton, of Cadiz, Ohio. Coleman and Peters are seeking a jury trial and $50,000 apiece in damages because of their injuries.

The crash happened around 11 a.m. Nov. 9 at Allequippa Street and Sutherland Drive in Oakland, near the University of Pittsburgh campus, transit spokesman Adam Brandolph said. A Jeep Wrangler driven by Fulton swerved around stopped traffic and crashed head-on into an 83-Bedford Hill bus traveling outbound from Downtown, Brandolph said.

Coleman and Peters were riding on the bus, according to court paperwork.

Nine people suffered what officials called non-life-threatening injuries in the crash, Brandolph said at the time.

The bus driver was not placed on leave. Pittsburgh police did not file charges against Fulton, who was among those injured.

In the lawsuit, Coleman and Peters say they suffered “severe and permanent injuries.”

Coleman suffered lower back pain and muscle strains, and other aches and pains, the lawsuit said. Peters suffered back sprain and strains, and knee pain. Peters’ injuries have resulted in “severe pain and suffering.”

Attorneys Anthony J. Giannetti and Adam D. Shorr are representing Coleman and Peters. They were not immediately available for comment Thursday afternoon.